Hawaiian Sends its Longhaul Aircraft to the Mainland
1 With Hurricane Douglas bearing down on the Hawaiian islands this past weekend, Hawaiian Airlines made the decision to transfer the bulk of its longhaul fleet to the mainland for safety.
With the hurricane expected to make landfall on Oahu with 90 MPH winds, the airline wanted to get its aircraft to safety. Much of its 717 fleet which it uses for inter-island flying was sent to Kona on the Big Island which was not expected to receive a direct hit.
But as for the fleet of A330 and A321s, Hawaiian sent them to the West Coast to wait out the storm. Using multiple airports — including Los Angeles, Oakland, Portland, Sacramento, and San Francisco — Hawaiian flew them out of harm’s way en masse over the weekend. To which the planes said to each other “I moved to Hawai’i for a reason – why the hell am I spending the weekend in Sacramento?”
In the end, the hurricane wobbled north of O’ahu and did not make landfall, so the move was likely unnecessary. Better safe than sorry.
Delta Cleans Up its Act
2 Delta Air Lines has partnered with worldwide hygiene, health, and nutrition conglomerate RB — better known as the maker of Lysol — as a part of its Delta CareStandard program.
The airline will work with Lysol and use its products to keep surfaces throughout the customer journey clean and disinfected. Microbiologists and germ-kill experts from Lysol will coordinate with Delta’s Global Cleanliness team (that sounds like a wild and carefree group of people) to develop protocols for disinfection that will help protect customers.
The partnership comes just as the EPA approved both Lysol Disinfectant Spray and Lysol Disinfecting Wipes as the first products to test effective against the novel coronavirus when used as directed on hard, non-porous surfaces. If there’s anything a trip through the airport and airplane is full of, it’s hard, non-porous surfaces, so the tie-up between the two companies is natural. The Miami Marlins — via Delta.com’s “contact us” form on Delta.com — asked the airline “You couldn’t have started this partnership last week?”
Korean Air Begins to Phase Out First Class
3 With global demand for air travel at an all-time low, Korean Air is removing first class inventory from sale on most of its long-haul routes. The cost-cutting measure will allow Korean to save on the overhead costs of providing all the amenities a proper international first class cabin demands, including having to return an aircraft to the gate if a passenger isn’t happy with how they’re served pre-flight macadamia nuts.
First class will remain on the airline’s flagship routes from Seoul/Incheon to Los Angeles and New York/JFK.
Etihad to Require Negative COVID Test for All Passengers
4 Effective this Friday, August 1, Etihad Airways will require a negative PCR test from all passengers within 96 hours of departure in order to fly. The rule is in place for all customers 13 years or older. It applies to all passengers flying to Abu Dhabi whether that’s their final destination or they are connecting beyond.
For passengers starting their journey in Abu Dhabi, Etihad will require the negative result for anyone going to the EU, UK, or anywhere it is mandated by the authorities at the destination. Etihad has partnered with with Mediclinic Middle East to offer departing passengers the option of convenient PRC testing, for a fee, at their home, or at Mediclinic facilities throughout the UAE.
Turkish Will Codeshare With Anyone
5 Turkish Airlines plans to introduce a new bilateral codeshare agreement with the official airline of the Cranky Daily — Pakistan International Airlines. “Fake pilots be damned,” a Turkish official might have said. “We want to dominate the Karachi to Istanbul market and this is how we’re going to do it.”
PIA passengers will be able to connect seamlessly on Turkish from Istanbul to destinations throughout the world, including the EU and US, since PIA can no longer fly there itself.
All passengers on the flight will receive pre-flight face-to-face meeting with their pilot with the option to ask questions, check his or her credentials, and offer an aviation pop quiz. If pilots do not pass the quiz or their credentials are deemed invalid, passengers will receive a $25 gift card from PIA for future travel.
Airline Potpourri
- Condor reached an agreement to avoid layoffs for its 4,200 employees.
- Frontier has dropped its plans for an IPO, because, well, who would buy that now?
- Qatar is shifting its operation at London/Heathrow to Terminal 5.
- Singapore’s flight to London/Heathrow will upgrade to daily service on August 1.
- SKY Airline plans to issue $100 million bond in advance of an IPO in 2024.
- TAP plans to operate to 66 destinations in August, increasing to 76 in September.
- United has requested an extension of its suspension of service to Aguadilla, PR (BQN) until the airport is reopened to passenger service from the mainland.
- Volaris posted a loss of $75 million in Q2.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
Fact of the day: Before the crowbar was invented, most crows drank at home.